"Guardian"

These thoughts only flashed through your mind, because your breakthrough had not yet been fully completed. There was still the final work to wrap up, so you decided to wait until your realm was stabilized before considering everything further...

That same year, you completely finished your breakthrough and further stabilized your cultivation. Thanks to the three-quarters of same-source Immortal Source fed back by the Spirit of the Phantom, the stabilization process went exceedingly smoothly, and once it was complete, your cultivation advanced another step.

After looking inward, you found it was not far from your estimate. It was enough to shorten by forty-three percent the time needed to cultivate to the First Stage of the True Immortal Realm. Presumably, after refining some pills, only half of the Immortal Source would remain before you could break through once more.

Once your cultivation realm had been stabilized, you did not have much time to test the new abilities granted by the Retrograde Dao Fruit. You left and came outside the formation, arriving at the Old Dragon King's side to offer him your sincere thanks.

The Old Dragon King smiled broadly at your cupped-hand salute. At the same time, the way he looked at you grew increasingly kind, many times more peaceful than when he had first seen you. Anyone unaware of the circumstances might have thought the Old Dragon King was your father, rather than Shen Xing standing nearby.

Naturally, you could not refuse an elder's excessive warmth and affection, especially since the Old Dragon King had just guarded you. Yet your previous desire to take the Old Dragon King as your master had wavered considerably. Before your breakthrough, it would clearly have been the best choice. But now that Retrograde was so powerful, even if Linlong emerged, she would find it